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Tuesday, 11 January 2005

Ear infection

A few nights ago, as we got ready for bed, DD screamed in pain, “Mummy, akit! Daddy, akit!”, while holding her right ear. I checked and saw a small scratch on the earlobe. She continued screaming. Now, my DD is prone to over-acting and tantrums, but her screams were way too loud for that small scratch, so I knew something was not right.

In between her screams, she asked to be carried. DH and I took turns to carry her. We used a torchlight to check the inner ear, but we could not see anything. I mentioned to DH that perhaps she had an ear infection. DH promptly opened his What To Expect The First Year book, ran his finger along the indexes to look for ‘ear infection’ and then flipped the book to the right page. Meanwhile, DD continued screaming.

Satisfied that it could be an ear infection, DH suggested that we take DD to the Doctor. It was already half past 10 and both child clinics that we normally frequent in USJ had already closed. My employer’s panel clinic closed at 11 pm, but I do not take DD there whenever she shows signs of unusual ailments. No offence to the doctors there, but I find their consultation too brief to detect any illness, except for your common fever, cough or flu.

So off we went to the ER at a private hospital in Subang Jaya. DD wailed intermittently in the car, but once we reached the hospital, she stopped crying. Perhaps she remembered that the hospital was her birthplace and that somehow calmed her, I don’t know. Or more likely, the sight of other patients who were sicker than her helped her to toughen up.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that there were not many patients there. A few minutes after registration, the nurse called us in. Not to see the doctor yet, but to take DD’s temperature. My DD, who is always hostile to strangers, started screaming again, calling “Mummy, Mummy.”

After that, we were asked to wait outside. Minutes turn into hours and by the time we were called in to see the doctor, it was almost 12.30 am. My DH helpfully told the Medical Officer (MO) that DD had ear pain and we (read: he) was wondering whether there was some foreign object or an insect in her ear. The MO promptly checked DD’s ear with a mini torchlight that can be inserted in the ear and concluded that there was no insect there. The inner ear was slightly red though, and it could be an ear infection.

We paid the medical bill of RM130 for that 5 minutes consultation, 2 hours usage of the waiting area plus one television set (on sharing basis with other patients, of course), 4 types of medicine and 1 syringe.

When we got into the car, DD started crying again. I soothed her, telling her she could take the medicines when we arrive home. That managed to calm her.

Back home, I sat on the living room floor and took out all the medicines. DD sat opposite me in anticipation. I was not deceived, however. With her history of aversion to medicines, I knew there would be a tough battle ahead. It was already good enough that she did not vomit at the sight of the medicines, like she did before.

I decided to give DD the antibiotic first. She took a sip of it and decided that it did not taste good enough for her. Despite our coaxing, promises, pleads and finally threats, she did not bulge. In the end, DH had to resort to physical force to get her to take the medicines. DD managed to spit some out of her mouth as proof her rebellion.

By the end of it all, all of us were exhausted. I fell asleep right after plonking onto bed.

DD is in good health now. She has not complained of any pain since that night. She has to finish the antibiotic within 5 days, so we are still giving it to her. As for the rest of the medicines, DH and I are too tired to fight with DD so we’ve stopped giving her.